UCL ranks fourth in the UK in new rankings

Sam Fearnley takes a look at the new Reputation rankings

The list was compiled by The Times Higher Education supplement, and put Harvard at the number one position.

Cambridge came second in the world, with Oxford third. Imperial took 14th, and UCL came in at number 17.

The list was dominated by American universities, which took 26 of the top 50 places.

Japanese Universities also did surprisingly well: The University of Tokyo, although not the best performer in other global rankings, was placed at number 12, and Kyoto University was at 27.

Four more British universities ranked within the top 50, with LSE being 22nd, Edinburgh at 29, King’s College London at 31 and Manchester at number 50.

Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Russia, Canada, Australia, Singapore and China all also had universities within the top 50.

The methodology used was quite subjective. In order to make the list, the Times polled a number of senior, published professors from universities in over 100 different countries. Each professor had to nominate 10 or fewer institutions which they felt had the best departments for their area of study. These areas were: social sciences, engineering, technology, physical sciences, medicine and life sciences, and arts and humanities.

THE editor Phil Baty said, “This is purely subjective data, it’s completely based on opinion. But it’s opinion from the people whose opinions really count.”

The list has been compiled for the last five years. It has been found that reputation is the single most important factor for students who are considering a university education. Despite this,there are a number of discrepancies between these rankings and the official global rankings, which can take up to 13 different metrics into account.